Offensive nicknames, inappropriate romances,
and a mysterious kidnapping. Jessica Alba has faced more than most during her career.
Jessica Alba opened up about her past in a book of essays written by female celebrities
called "If I'd Known Then." After developing a larger chest than the rest of her classmates,
Alba was even labeled a vulgar name by her school principal and some of
the PTA moms who the "Good Luck Chuck" star described as "self-righteous." She added,
During an interview with Cosmopolitan, Alba disclosed that she went through
puberty at a very early age, causing some of her uncles to linger with some of their
hugs. She also revealed that she pretty much went out with any boy that asked,
until she began dating her "Dark Angel" co-star, the much older Michael Weatherly.
As a teenager, Alba lost her virginity to Weatherly, and the two developed an intense
relationship. When Alba was 20 years old, she got engaged to Weatherly, who was 32 at the time.
"We will get married later, we're gonna wait."
Alba's Christian parents did not approve of the relationship, which caused a major strain within
her family. Eliza Dushku would later call out Weatherly for alleged sexual harassment on the
set of CBS' "Bull," calling his reputation into question. Alba later revealed that she would
likely never date an actor again following her relationship with Weatherly, via Cosmopolitan.
Jessica Alba grew up in a very Christian household, with her parents becoming
born-again Christians. However, Alba decided to leave her church as a teenager. During
an interview with the Daily Beast, Alba stated that she fell in love at 16, saying,
As Alba revealed, her church believed that gay people were going to hell. They
also most certainly did not believe in pre-marital sex. This caused the
star to second-guess her religion, and led her to hate how homophobic the church was.
At Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP Health Summit in 2019,
Alba revealed that one of the reasons she left her church was because her youth pastor made
her feel shame that older men would hit on her. The Honest founder even went to the
lengths of trying to make herself look like a boy to stop unwanted advances from men.
In 2007, Jessica Alba revealed that she had been
bullied in school when she was a kid, telling the Daily Mail,
"I guess I never really felt connected to anyone my age."
The "Sin City" star explained that her mixed race
and her parents' poverty didn't help the situation, as she told the Daily Mail,
Alba also told the Daily Mail that she's skeptical when people are nice
to her because she always felt like she had to keep her guard up as a kid.
In the mid-90's, a 15-year-old Jessica Alba's fame was on the rise, and she was
shooting a new series called "Flipper," based on the beloved dolphin. However,
one of the most shocking Hollywood kidnappings occurred on the set of "Flipper," as Alba went
missing for more than 14 hours. According to the Mirror, she started receiving strange phone calls,
which she chalked up to being pranks. Shortly after, Alba was allegedly kidnapped. Following
a considerable search, Alba was found bound and gagged in the trunk of a car.
Unfortunately, Alba was unable to provide police with any information about her abduction,
so the case was eventually dropped. The "Honey" star has remained very quiet
about the situation and has never publicly discussed the kidnapping with the media.
Jessica Alba hasn't always had the easiest relationship with her parents
due to their religious beliefs, but she remains a devoted daughter. In 2021,
the "L.A.'s Finest" actor revealed that her mom,
Cathy, once had cancer. She also opened up about her own health, telling Romper,
The same year, Alba took to her Instagram to share a video revealing that her father,
Mark, had thyroid cancer. The two did a super cute father-daughter dance, and Alba found her
comments section flooded with well wishes to her family from her friends and fans.
In 2017, a few weeks after announcing that she was expecting her third child with husband Cash
Warren, Alba announced the death of her dog Sid, per Today. Sid was also a bit of a celebrity,
and even made an appearance in Alba's film, "Honey." Two weeks later, Alba's
family was faced with another tragedy, when the "Mechanic: Resurrection" star posted on Instagram,
Alba's famous friends and a multitude of fans offered their condolences. The actor
also noted that Bowie was named after the late David Bowie. Per Today, Alba always
ensured she would go on 30 minute walks when she was pregnant with her second daughter,
Haven. More recently, the family of five welcomed two new puppies into their home, Dolly and Lucy.